John Bancroft’s first job after graduating from college was in a factory on the night shift. When it was his turn to goldbrick, he preferred to find a quiet corner to read a book. He chose his reading material on a cost-per-page basis.

This is how he came to read “Moby Dick.”

A lot of years went by during he which was a business journalist specializing in the residential mortgage industry. Fortunately for the readers of “AutoFlick,” none of this professional experience was applied to the novel.

One day while riding with his children in his pick-up truck, Bancroft saw a man throw a cigarette from his car into the road. It took a while, but he eventually built “AutoFlick” on the dried bones of “Moby Dick” and this everyday experience.